What If
by CaffinatedSpaz
Summary: Little changes can have big consequences and while deception is a ninja's greatest weapon, deceiving ones friends is as good as treason. Let's play puppeteer...
1. What if I made the right choice?

Prologue (What if I made the right choice?)

Author's Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. Thank you.

In the Naruto universes, or multiverses, whichever you wish to call it, there are an infinite number of situations that our protagonists get into. Whether it be romance with either gender, finding new powers hidden within the past or being saved by others from places far off from our blond haired hero's own, there are limitless possibilities that are written by many.

It is however, to be said that in these situations, there is a small choice. It doesn't seem major, but it is. In all stories that involve Konoha, there is a particular street. On this particular street, all previous stories have Naruto walking left. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but down this street is where Naruto gets beaten/raped/killed/saved/ect. It is only in this story where things get a little…different.

It is in this story that our protagonist decides to take a chance and, at the ripe young age of 6, walk his way down to the _right _instead. Again, a small choice, but one that will have earthshaking consequences. It is down this road that our Kyuubi prison will find a new set of possibilities. It is down this road that Naruto will find that while deception can be a ninja's best weapon, it can also be easily turned against its wielder.

Down this right road, lies Konoha's red-light district. One would think that possibly this den of immorality and hedonism would be the last place our social pariah would want to walk down. This, strangely enough, couldn't be further from the truth. It is here after that those who have a heart for the poor young boy frequent. Many ANBU, trying to escape their merciless lives and horrifying jobs come here to indulge their darkest sins. Drink and women are easily accessible, often in the same place.

One bar in particular however held our young boy's gaze. A small, out of the way place that not too many even knew about, much less drank at. However, it had an inviting look to it, less a bar than a resting place for those whom life became too tiresome. Without thinking, the innocent boy stepped inside, and everything went silent.

At this deafening silence the boy began to panic internally. This was usually a prelude to pain and suffering. Shaking with fear, the young boy made to back off, his bright blue eyes welling up with frightened tears. However, the young boy was shocked when a pair of strong arms grabbed him, picked him up and sat him down on the counter. He was then greeted by a scarred but smiling face. "Heh, what are you doing here Naruto? Aren't you a little young to be interested in this sort of place?"

"Nonsense, Ibiki!!" Yelled an enthusiastic voice, shocking both interrogator and boy, causing the second to jump and the first one to glare wrathfully at the long, white haired ninja sitting at the end of the bar, grinning like a madman. "You can never be too young to appreciate a fine female physic! Or a good drink for that matter. Why, the young boy probably is just getting ready for his life as a ninja!"

Another voice chimed in. "Jiraya! Leave the poor kid alone, he's probably just lost and scared. Give 'im a milk or something will you barkeep? I'll pay for it."

The barkeep, a large, balding man nodded warmly and gave Naruto a small cold glass of milk, which Naruto drank eagerly, smiling happily at the barkeep. The old man laughed and replied, "Ha! This isn't no demon. Those idiots have no idea what they're talking about. Poor kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Naruto then curiously turned to the white-haired oji-san, and walked over to him, looking up at him. Jiraya looked down at Naruto and laughed. "How are you doing there kid?" Naruto looked at him for a moment, cocked his head to the side and after examining him, looked down at the floor, obviously too shy to say a word. "Now come on, don't be shy! I'm not bad! Here, I'll show you a trick." Jiraya made sure he had Naruto's attention before taking out a small slip of paper and putting his glass on it. "Now watch carefully. This is a magic piece of paper! It can make things disappear! Watch…" The old man grinned mischievously and channeled some Chakra into the paper, activating the storage seal it contained. When the glass disappeared, the boy gasped and jumped back. "Impressive, huh?"

The barkeep rolled his eyes and replied with, "Stop teasing the boy Jiraya. Keep it up and it'll be no sake for you for a month."

Jiraya's eyes bulged comically and he jumped up, ranting. "Hey! I'm a Sanin you know! I'm a legend! A LEGEND I TELL YOU! Women love me! Men want to be me! I am the great, the wonderful, the SUPER PERVERT, JIRAYA!" The old man finished his speech with a comical pose and a yell, which was pretty much ignored by the rest of the bar. Naruto on the other hand just laughed as if he had been watching a clown. Jiraya sighed and sat down. "Gimme another drink will ya?"

The bartender complied quickly and handed the Sanin another pitcher of sake. Naruto had hopped up onto the barstool next to Jiraya and began to draw something with a broken crayon he found in his pocket, every once and a while turning to the storage seal and turning back to his creation.

After a few minutes, Jiraya poured himself some more sake into his dish and set the pitcher down, drinking the dish in one gulp. He smiled warmly and went to get himself another drink, when he froze. The pitcher was no longer there. This caused the Sanin to jump up and look around. "W-where's the sake?"

"You probably already drank it you alcoholic." murmured the bartender, who merely received a glare from the incensed old man.

Jiraya looked around the table, and froze, his face slowly becoming a mask of shock. Sitting right where he had put his sake pitcher, written in red crayon on a bar napkin was a perfect duplicate of his storage seal. The old man whirled around to where Naruto was sitting, only to find an even bigger shock. The Hokage. Nobody of course knew who he was due to a cleverly used henge, but Jiraya knew of the Sandiame's drinking habits and disguises. Naruto was sitting on his lap, grinning like the cat that caught the canary.

"Well, well…who would have thought…our little Naruto is a seal prodigy…Jiraya, you're a genius!" the young brown haired man exclaimed. The form was a very unassuming one, not a person who would easily draw attention. He could have been a random generic ninja in any given scene of the anime, so bland was the transformation.

"What? You're kidding me! No way. If you're going to try to fool me, at least give me the effort a ninja like me deserves." Jiraya scoffed.

"Fool you? What would I gain from doing that? I saw it with my own two eyes. This boy's a fuinjutsu genius, simple as that."

"You're trying to tell me, that this gaki at his young age was able to perfectly copy a sealing jutsu, and activate it at his age? You're pulling my leg!" Jiraya harrumphed and looked to the side, but this time he seemed ever so slightly shaken.

The henge'd Hokage sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm telling you Jiraya, this kid did it! Are you calling me a liar?" asked the young man in a, "I'm Hokage and you'd better listen to me," tone of voice.

"N-no! I'm just having a hard time believing it is all…I mean…think about it, at his age, being able to perform fuinjutsu like this…the kid could potentially surpass…well…me!" Jiraya replied, shaking his head back and forth.

The Hokage continued holding the young boy and adopted a thinking pose. He looked down, then at his white haired drinking companion, then back down again. Then, "And what's wrong with that?"

Jiraya laughed. "The only way he'd be able to pull that one off is if I was the who trained him."

"Sounds like a great idea, Jiraya!" The Hokage exclaimed.

The Toad Sage spat out a mouthful of sake all over the counter, angering the barkeep. "ME? No way! The gaki would get in the way of my research, and it would be far too irritating to have to train the little kid. I ain't doing it."

"At the waste of such potential?"

"Not my problem."

The Hokage sighed deeply, and looked around. It was fate that at that moment, two buxom but overly flashy women walked in. By the way their hips moved to their make up to their clothing, it was very clear that these women were involved in the oldest profession in existence. They were, in short, whores. Normally they would have immediately made a beeline to the white haired Sanin, as he was one of their best clients, but something stopped them. The sight of an adorable little Naruto on the lap of what looked like Kohona's most bland shinobi. "Awww!" one of them squealed and bent down, revealing far too much cleavage than was necessary, "He's SO cute!"

The old man had a brilliant flash of inspiration, and speaking loud enough for the sage to hear, spoke. "Yes, it's awfully hard, taking care of him all by myself…I didn't want to bring him here, but I don't have much of a choice. The poor boy lost his parents to the Ninetails, and left him in my care, and I wouldn't dare leave him to the world, not in this state."

"Oh!" The other whore sighed. "You're such a committed man…I like committed men…" The whore finished with a sultry look in the Hokage's direction.

Jiraya meanwhile was sputtering and stammering until he saw the reaction to the Hokage's story and immediately leapt to his feet. "W-wait! I never actually said I WOULDN'T train him!"

"No, no, you made your point quite clear. It's a pity, because I could see this boy becoming legendary…" The Hokage shook his head and got up, after gently setting Naruto on the floor. "Come on now, it's time to go back home, okay?"

Jiraya's face turned red. "WAIT JUST A SECOND! No way am I letting you hog all the glory-er- I mean, no way am I letting such potential walk out that door! I'm going to train that gaki and there is nothing you can say that'll make me do otherwise! I'll kidnap him if I have to!"

The Hokage began laughing, shaking his head. "All right, no need to twist my arm. When can I expect you to start? And will you be leaving the village?"

"Of course I'll be leaving the village. Hell, go bring that gaki back to his home and get him packed…we'll leave tonight." Jiraya stood up and stretched, throwing some yen down before walking out the door without another word. Naruto looked curiously up at the Hokage who smiled down on him.

"Come Naruto. The night is young and you have much to do. Let's go home." The Hokage smiled and both he and Naruto strode off into the night, but not before the Hokage turned to the two whores and snapped his fingers, dispelling the two henge'd clones in a puff of smoke.

*********

The moon was shining brightly over Konoha as Naruto and the Hokage walked silently to the gate. The white haired Sanin was already there, tapping his foot impatiently, eager to leave the village as soon as possible. As soon as he made eye contact with the duo he strode up, frowning. "Took you long enough. He got everything?"

The Hokage nodded sagely before kneeling down to face Naruto, a warm, yet sad smile spreading on his old wrinkled features. "Naruto, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I'm going to be sending you off with a trusted friend of mine, one of my favorite students. Listen to what he has to say. And remember, you always have a home here. I'll await the day you return to us Naruto, but until then, take care, and please, always try to remember Konoha fondly."

Naruto nodded and turned to the white haired Sanin silently. Jiraya stared back before finally breaking out into an exasperated grin. He then knelt and picked up the blond boy, hefting him up onto his shoulders. Naruto happily laughed. The Hokage smiled and extended a hand to Jiraya. "Thank you Jiraya. I can rest easy knowing he'll be under your care."

Jiraya laughed heartily. "Ha, when he comes back, you'll hardly recognize him! I'll turn him into a Class A ninja, no doubt about that!"

Sarutobi smiled and nodded. "Of course. Goodbye Naruto. I'll see you again."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, but smiled and waved goodbye to the old man. Jiraya then turned around, and in a swirl of leaves, vanished into the forest beyond. The Hokage sighed, standing alone in the open road. It would be a little less vibrant without Naruto around. Slowly, he turned towards the tower and hung his head. There was paperwork to be done, and knowing his aides, his little excursion out to the bar would get him chewed out. The title of Hokage wasn't nearly as glamorous as some thought…

*******

An undetermined amount of time later…

*******

Umino Iruka, for all his complaints and sighs in regards to his job, really loved teaching deep down in his heart of hearts. Knowing that it was under his tutelage that the newest batch of Genin would spring forth was both a source of pride and a comfort. And although there were exceptions, a number of students trusted him explicitly, often coming to him after class for advice and questions that he was only too happy to answer for them to the best of his abilities. He was also proud of his ability to size up his students at first glance, knowing their personalities from speech and gaze alone. It was for this reason that he couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of apprehension when the newest student walked into his classroom.

"Everyone! Settle down! I would like to introduce a new student. He's been doing some training outside of the village and is going to be taking the Genin test with us this weekend. He'll be working with all of you from here on out, so please give a welcome to Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka proclaimed to the students.

Naruto strode forth, and the very first thing that Iruka noticed was that the blonde's gaze didn't hold the smile that his lips produced. They were moving around rapidly, taking in faces, calculating. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn the young man was looking for entrances and exits, a paranoid yet wise trait most ANBU and older veterans were known for. The young boy's steps were silent, but he strode with a purpose, stopping in front of the rest of the class with a mysterious smile gracing his lips. With the whisker marks on either cheek, he was vaguely fox-like, something that sent a shiver up Iruka's spine. "Hello everyone, I'll be looking forward to working with you all." Naruto murmured softly, his voice the sound of velvet, a hint of steel behind it like a sheathed sword. He had the inflection of someone who carefully weighed each word, testing it in his mind before producing it for the desired effect.

Iruka smiled down at Naruto, putting his initial nervousness at the back of his head, laughing internally at his own foolish thoughts. "Why don't you tell the class what you learned while you were away from the village? Or what style of combat you happen to use?"

Naruto put a finger to his chin and adopted a thoughtful pose, silent for a few moments. Finally, he opened his mouth and answered, "Hm…well, I'm going to assume that I've learned the same as everyone here. For combat…hm…I suppose you could call me a puppeteer, sou desu."

A haughty female voice rang out from the students, a voice Iruka immediately identified as Hinata Hyuuga, replying, "Puppeteer? Then where is your puppet?"

Naruto slowly turned to the lavender eyed girl, his smile widening until his smile resembled that of a beast, a feral grin that was full of teeth and ill-willed mirth. "Why, Hyuuga-san, don't you know? People make the best puppets," Naruto's eyes widened as he spoke, sending unconscious shivers throughout much of the room, save for a boy of raven-black hair and a lavender eyed boy, "All it takes, is the right kind of string." Silence followed Naruto's statement until suddenly he laughed and his face abruptly was that of an innocent young man, a warm smile spread from ear to ear. "Heh, gotcha! Nah, I'm straight up Ninjutsu, laced with some Taijutsu. Where would you like me to sit Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka shook his head and his usual smile returned. "You may sit next to Sakura-chan. She's the young woman with the pink hair." Iruka gestured in her direction. Sakura looked unnerved at this revelation, but struggled to maintain a friendly smile for the new student. Next to her, Uchiha Sasuke frowned deeply, staring at the young newcomer.

And sitting in his chair, up in the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi frowned as he read over a small orange folder given to him the day before, worry evident in every wrinkle in his face. For the first time in a while, he wondered if sending Naruto with Jiraya was such a wise idea after all…


	2. What if I got used to it all?

Chapter 2 (What if got used to it all?)

Naruto knew deep down that he'd never have a decent lunch. Not only was he the new kid, but his odd introduction drew too much attention him and the young blond was already regretting it. All he wanted was to relax, enjoy his bento and enjoy the fine Konoha weather. Instead, he was immediately accosted by a youth whose hair briefly reminded him of a duck's ass. However, he was far too wise to point this out and instead half heartedly listened to whatever the young man had to say.

"So fight me."

Naruto froze up and fixed 'duck ass' with a curious stare. "I-I'm sorry, come again?"

"Fight me. If you've been training alone outside the village, you must have some skill."

Silence, then, "Er…can I at least know your name?"

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto's sapphire eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he mulled over the information. Jiraya had taught him much of Konoha's history, and picking a fight with the last scion of the Uchiha's wouldn't be a wise idea, not this early in the game. Naruto shook his head and held up a hand with a disarming smile. "No no, I couldn't fight you! I know that name, and I can tell you that I wouldn't stand a chance. There'd be no point! You'd gain nothing from it besides maybe a bad rep for beating up someone far under your skill level." Naruto kept up the smile, a simple, innocent smile. Sasuke stood staring at him for a few moments before snorting.

"Tch, whatever. At least you aren't stupid like Inuzuka."

Again, Naruto's eyes narrowed imperceptibly at this information and filed it away in the back of his head. He couldn't help but feel nothing but contempt for the bastard. Already he was trying to pick a fight with him and he hadn't even gotten to eat his lunch! He was relieved however when he saw 'duck ass' walking away and with a contented sigh opened up his bento. He had to actually thank Jiraya for all the times he made Naruto cook. At least now it allowed him to actually eat right instead of having to rely on instant crap and poorly made school food. Although he would still indulge in his favorite sin of ramen, he knew that a healthy diet was key for a healthy mind and body. Before he could get a bite to eat though, a shadow fell over him and another male voice spoke up.

"So Uchiha-san already tried to pick a fight with you hm?" The voice drawled, as if even the act of speaking was too much for the person.

Son of a…just one explosive ta- Naruto shook his head, cutting off the train of thought and looked up to see a very bored looking young man, his dark hair tied up in a ponytail, giving Naruto the image of a pineapple. He sighed deeply and looked sadly down at his uneaten bento. First duck's asses, now fruit? Throw in pinky over there and these people define bad hair day! "Er…yeah. I don't really feel like fighting though to be honest."

The bored kid smirked and nodded slightly as if in approval. "Wise choice. He always tries to fight people. It's like he has to know he's the strongest. Too troublesome if you ask me."

Naruto snickered. "I take it he isn't popular?"

"Oh no, he's plenty popular…if you happen to be a troublesome female."

"Oh wonderful," Naruto muttered darkly, "Fan girls. I swear, if Old Man Sarutobi sticks me with one of them, I'm gonna…" Naruto's threats ended in dark mutters under his breath.

"By the way, the name's Nara Shikamaru." The bored boy held out a hand and they shook, Naruto breaking out of his irritation to smile pleasantly.

"Nice to meet you." Naruto grabbed a piece of tempura shrimp and popped it into his mouth, smiling.

Shikamaru stood silent for a few moments longer before finally piping with a drawled, "Mind if I sit here?"

After finishing up another bite, Naruto gestured to the spot next to him beneath the tree. "By all means, go ahead. Much better you than 'duck ass'" Naruto went to take another bite and froze. "Er…did I say that out loud?"

"Hm. It's not like most of us don't think so. Actually, as far as this class goes, there's only two fan girls. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura." Shikamaru explained.

"Hm…I know the pink haired girl is Sakura, but who's Ino-san?" Naruto asked curiously, picking at a clump of rice and examining it.

Shikamaru leaned back against the tree. "Troublesome girl, but when aren't they…blond hair, ponytail, blue eyes. Constantly complains and harps about everything. Pain in the backside if you ask me."

Naruto continued to examine his lunch, but smirked. "Heh, so nice."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Just wait 'til you meet her."

"…" Naruto slowly arose from his spot on the ground and looked around, frowning gently. "Huh."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Naruto shook his head. "As much as I enjoyed talking with you Nara-san, I must be on my way. Pardon me." The blond boy picked up his bento and walked back into the academy, his face slightly distracted as if in thought. Shikamaru watched him disappear from sight and shook his head slowly.

"Weird. Real weird."

*******

After school, Naruto disappeared. Not literally, as in fading from existence, or vanishing in a flurry of leaves or dust. No, instead everyone walked out of the classroom, watched Naruto turn a corner and when the walked around it, he was gone.

This of course disappointed a couple of students, mainly Lee and Kiba, who both wanted to have a friendly spar to get to know the young man. Shikamaru simply frowned and followed Chiba to their normal resting place on the grass on one of the hills, a little disappointed himself as the young man seemed like he might be a decent hand at Go or Shoji. As far as everyone else went, his disappearance went largely unnoticed, as the rest couldn't care less.

Of course, the fact that Naruto disappeared isn't important. It's what he was doing that was key…

*******

"Come on! Step right up! Quality, select seals right here! Best of the best, you can't get better! Go on, test me! Take any tag you wish and I'll test it! Any pile, any tag! I guarantee my wares are THE best seals you've ever used! My explosive tags could knock the chakra outta someone! My storage seals are so expansive, you could fit the ENTIRE Rock Village population into here if you wished!" A voice rang clear through the afternoon sky, echoing through the Konoha marketplace with it's tenor tone. The speaker himself was…weird. Actually, weird is an understatement. The man looked as if he had just escaped from a loony bin right before running through a costume shop. His hair, a mess of spikes atop his head, was painted in multicolored stripes, Red, Blue, Green and Yellow. His face was broken out into a grin that split his face from ear to ear and perched atop his nose were a pair of shades. A patch of hair at his chin luckily was merely blonde, but beneath that…He wore a blue robe, with sequins of suns, moons and stars all in silver all tied with a belt that looked like it was made of Clown hair. All in all, he looked ****ing bonkers. "Come on! Take a chance!"

A crowd was around him, chunin, jounin, and even a few ANBU were thrown into the mix, all looking curiously at his wares. A dog mask picked up a slip of paper with symbols drawn on it in black ink. "Okay, test this one."

The crazy young man examined it over the top of his sunglasses and pulled it from his hand. "Okay, hang on, just a second…" He then snapped his fingers, a kunai appearing in his hand instantaneously and he tied the slip to the kunai. "Noooow….WATCH!" He threw the kunai up into the air and snapped his fingers. Abruptly there was a powerful explosion erupting above the Konoha sky, the sound echoing across the empty sky. The fireball itself was enormous, obviously capable of searing anything to ash, flesh, bone and clothing. A few of the younger Shinobi clapped their hands and whistled while the others simply nodded acquiescence.

Dog looked at the crazed man, turning his head to the side. "That's very impressive. Pray tell, why haven't we heard of you before?"

The crazed man laughed wildly and threw his head back. "THAT, THAT IS THANKS TO YOUR WONDERFUL HOKAGE!" Everyone flinched back at this loud admittance. "I was once a seal master in the Village Hidden in the Mist, but I ran away, unable to live with my conscience any longer, knowing that my art was being used for horrible murders and crimes that only benefited the higher ups! It was all for personal gain and I could not stand it! But your Hokage, Kami bless him for life, was kind enough to take me in and all he asked was for my services to help keep this village free, and I, I was only too happy to oblige! So I happily peddle my wares for you brave Shinobi who give your all for us!" The crazed man stopped his soliloquy and blinked for a few seconds, realization dawning on his face. "You know what? Screw it! 50% off all day today! That's right! I'm cutting everything today!"

That was all it took for the crowd to tighten and the yen to flow…

*******

Satoshi Yao, the crazed fuinjutsu master…

Of course, for those of us who've been paying attention, it wouldn't be surprising to see the insane man leap into an alleyway after having been completely sold out of his wares and mutter, "Release," under his breath, vanishing in a puff of smoke and reappearing as our blond protagonist, flipping through a massive wad of yen notes and grinning like the cat that caught the canary, ate the mouse and washed it down with a dish of cream. "Kami, help me survive the idiocy of my fellow villagers, for they are blithering IDIOTS!" He snickered and walked out into the street, whistling a jaunty tune.

'How sad…even the ANBU didn't think to investigate! I almost shit myself when I saw Inu there, but man, that's just sad.' Naruto shook his head, 'Then again, I suppose Old Man Sarutobi probably told them all about my little business, but still…Hm, well, no sense in worrying about it now…" Sapphire eyes looked up into the sky and he smiled his foxy smile. 'The day's not over yet and I've plenty to do.'

"Yip!" A noise at Naruto's heels brought him to attention and he looked down, frowning gently.

"Oh, it's you." The young man bent down and picked up a small fuzzy fox, which immediately began to lick his face, causing him to scrunch it up. "No, stop that. I love you too Ichi-chan, but you've got to stop following me. I told you to stay at the apartment…"

"Yip!" The fox, obviously not understanding what her master was saying, simply licked his face again.

Naruto sighed and smiled at the red-furred bundle in his hands and shook his head. "Oh, all right, keep quiet and you can come with me." He then placed the fox on his shoulder, which draped itself across his neck and put his hands together, vanishing in a puff of leaves.


	3. What if I hated it all?

_**I do not own Naruto. That is property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the official release. Oh, and please review! Seriously, we authors live off of those things!**_

**What if I hated it all?**

Naruto wasn't happy. This much was plainly evident by the look on his face, the way he slammed the door when he entered his shabby apartment building, its walls dingy and dank and peeling. Even the way he curtly placed Ichi down on the floor and stomped away told volumes about his current mood. Of course, in light of how Jiraya had always told him not to wear his heart on his sleeve like that, it merely drove him further into anger, a sin he was best known for indulging in more than anything.

"They're all morons Ichi-chan. Every single one of them. Arrogant, foolish, stupid, I could go on! Down the list, I can't stand them! Even some of the best ones have such glaring flaws it hurts just to watch them! The Uchiha bastard is far too arrogant and single minded, the Hyuugas are arrogant as well, full of so much pride that _their_ fall is going to be very far!" Naruto paced back and forth, throwing his hands up in frustration. The fox whimpered obviously concerned about her master's state of mind.

"Going further, Haruno and Yamanaka are so deep in infatuation with duck-ass that they think that being a ninja is nothing more than a game, an activity to show up to their precious Uchiha bastard! Nara-kun might be worth it if he didn't have the motivation of a potato, Akamichi can't walk three steps without getting winded, Tenten's a one trick pony and Rock Lee…" Naruto stopped for a couple of seconds and grinned briefly, shaking his head. "Okay, besides the fact that all he's got is Taijutsu, I got to admire his drive and loyalty." Finally the angered Leaf-nin collapsed onto an old couch, holding his head. "At least I learned a little something from them."

Ichi jumped up onto Naruto's lap who proceeded to scratch the fox behind the ears, eliciting a happy tail-wagging from the beast. "Hm…yes, they taught me much, despite the problems. Now I just need to tie the right strings to them. Shouldn't be too hard. I might want to wait until I figure out which team I'll be stuck with. I suppose if I had to choose…hm…that's a toughie. I think Inuzuka or Lee and…hm…Nara maybe. Brains and Brawn, I like that." Naruto's expression adopted a thoughtful glance and he stared out into space as he continued. "I also need to check up at the library to look at any seals Jiraya-sensei neglected to tell me about. Monetarily I think I'm good but it wouldn't help to sell off a few more seals. As far as my little 'project' goes, I should probably finish that tonight…"

*********

The next day brought a mixture of nervousness and exasperation from Iruka's students as they prepared for the tests. As far as Naruto was concerned, the following was nothing more than just another day with Jiraya-sensei, who taught him far beyond the current level of education most Genin would have received by that point. With a bored look etched upon his features, the whiskered youth finished his worksheet with time to spare. _Done with plenty of time left. Haruno and Nara are finished, no surprise there. Huh, so is the Hyuuga girl. Sooo bored. Man, I hope the other exams are better than this. Seriously, this wasn't even a challenge. I mean, I know Jiraya-sensei told me this should be easy, but…ugh_. Naruto's eyes flickered around imperceptibly, making sure his movements weren't seen by the teachers at the front of the room. He noticed Sakura staring at Sasuke, soaking in his image. _Kami help me if I get stuck with those two. If I do, I swear to all that is holy I'll…I'll…I don't know what I'll do, but it's most likely going to involve a warehouse full of explosive tags, two kittens, a cannon, some rope and Icha Icha Paradise with page 69-70 missing._

"Pencils down!" barked the voice of the instructor. "Stand up and form a line in front of us. We'll be testing you on various ninja techniques."

"Blah blah blah. Finally we get to do something. I was afraid I'd end up with gray hairs before they thought us competent enough to hold a kunai…

One by one the students went through the line, the instructors asking for both substitution, disguise and replication techniques. All of the students had passed. Naruto was up next and he almost couldn't help but return the imperceptible smirk on the face of one of the instructors. "So, Uzumaki…show us a kage bushin."

"Hey wait! We haven't even covered that!" Kiba spoke up, pissed that a fellow classmate was being forced to show a technique far beyond their current skill level.

"Quiet Inuzuka or I'll have you failed immediately! Now Uzumaki…"

Naruto was doing his best to keep an impassive face, the urge to start laughing in the face of his instructor threatening to break his composure. "Kage Bushin? Right." Naruto calmly replicated the hand signs his sensei had drilled into him almost from day one and with a puff of smoke four black and red clad copies of the whiskered ninja appeared instantaneously. "Will this work? I'm afraid I can only produce this many at most."

The stunned silence of not only the instructors but his fellow classmates nearly drove Naruto to laughter. _Ha! Weren't expecting that now were you?_ The silence lasted a few minutes more until it was broken by the hesitant voice of one of the instructors. "V-very good…y-you pass." Naruto bowed and walked away, his sides hurting from the laughter he was keeping back.

At the top of the classroom Naruto simply looked forward, using his peripheral vision to watch the reactions of his fellow classmates and nearly winced at what he saw. Half of the class was appraising him with impressed looks in their eyes and the other…well, mostly Uchiha and the two Hyuugas were glaring at him. _Son of a…bad Naruto! No showing off! Oh well, it's just a Shadow Clone. What they don't know won't hurt me, sou desu._

*******

Naruto smiled as he tied his headband on, straitening it out. _Now, I should probably throw a storage seal onto the back of this. No sense in letting extra space go to waste_. Striding off, Naruto nearly missed a spike of killing intent directed at him. It was small enough to be of no effect, merely a slight prickling sensation on the back of his neck. Turning his head to see who was the cause he nearly fell back laughing when the face of a poorly hidden blond girl entered his view. Realizing she'd been caught, she angrily stamped out, storming right up to him and poked him in his chest.

"Just WHO do you think you are! How dare you try to show up Sasuke-kun! You're just lucky this wasn't an actual fight or Sasuke would show you whose better!" The blonde girl ranted, continuing to poke Naruto in the chest.

_Ugh, let me guess, Ino._ Straining to keep a pleasant expression, Naruto put his hands up in a disarming gesture. "I wasn't trying to show up anyone! Honest! I'm just doing what my sensei taught me is all!"

"Don't lie to me! I know you were trying to embarrass my Sasuke-kun!" Ino stepped back and made a number of hand signs before yelling, "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Naruto's face contorted in confusion until he heard a voice in his head. "Ha! Now I can embarrass YOU!"

Naruto's body started walking away as he noticed Ino's body slump to the ground. Realizing what happened, Naruto closed his eyes and smiled. His head went silent as his body froze and suddenly his head was filled with a loud scream of terror before his body suddenly fell back under his control. Slowly Naruto turned to find Ino crawling away, her face filled with horror. Naruto strode to her agonizingly slowly until he was towering over her, then bent down, his shadow falling over her. "Mind transfer hm? Well, I hope we learned our lesson, because if you ever do that to me again, I'll make sure that you have an up close meeting with him and he's a VERY grumpy fellow, sou desu." Naruto stood up and turned on his heel, striding off. Before he got too far though, he turned back over his shoulder and with a sneer finished with, "I'll do whatever I please to that arrogant _hack_. It's really a pity though. Someone with an ability as unique as yours and you're wasting it all on someone like him. But what do I know, I'm not as good as him, sou desu ka?"

With a flourish, Naruto continued to walk off, leaving behind Ino, shivering uncontrollably at what she had been so unfortunate to encounter within the mind of Naruto. She had no idea what it was, but she would be sure to remember one thing; There was more to him than met the eye.

_**Author's Note: If any of you are wondering, "sou desu" and "sou desu ka?" (That's right and Is that right?) are my version of Naruto's verbal tics. The first is used as a affirmation of a previous statement and the second is used sarcastically or mockingly as if making fun of something someone believes is true. Oh and as far as the Kyuubi's gender goes, this is NOT a shonen-ai/yaoi fanfic. Naruto just doesn't know the Kyuubi's gender and is winging it, hence the grumpy "fellow" comment.  
**_


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